SO, there were two versions to the story whether whether Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman is still on course to land the coveted Indonesian ambassadorship post, which has sent tongues wagging over the social media.
The first one was from Free Malaysia Today. Citing a source, the news portal said Tajuddin’s name is not on the latest list of those (supposedly five envoys including him) scheduled to receive their letters of appointment from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong today (July 12).
When contacted, FMT said a Government source familiar with the matter confirmed that Putrajaya has had a “change of heart” over Tajuddin’s appointment.
“That is why his (Tajuddin) name was not included in the latest list of envoys who will receive their surat watikah (letter of appointment) from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong tomorrow.”
In the second story, the Malaysian Insight, which quoted a source close to the Prime Minister’s Office, said the appointment was “still on track” and that the appointment letter had merely “been delayed”.
Interestingly, even Tajuddin was not aware if his appointment had been scrapped or he “is still on course” to be Malaysia’s head of diplomatic mission in Jakarta, especially when a petition has also been launched on Change.org to call for his appointment to be revoked (it has gathered more than 35,700 signatures as of the time of writing).
“No comment. Ask the Foreign Minister or the Prime Minister,” Tajuddin told FMT of which attempts by the portal to contact Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah and his deputy Datuk Kamaruddin Jaffar on the matter were unsuccessful.
To re-cap, Tajuddin’s appointment had invited criticism from several quarters including MPs, former diplomats, politicians and civil society movements.
Too much to handle
It all started on May 17 when the controversial UMNO MP confirmed that he was appointed as Malaysia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, which drew heavy criticism with DAP MP Wong Hon Wai, who labelled the former as lacking both the necessary diplomatic skills as well as having proven himself to be unfit for the role based on eligibility, experience and suitability of character.
On May 26 last year, Tajuddin was booted out as the Prasarana Malaysia Bhd chairman following an ill-conceived media conference on the LRT mishap two days earlier.
Although political consideration could be the chief reason why Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob favours Tajuddin’s appointment, the former could also be under tremendous pressure to sideline the UMNO warlord by virtue of his removal as a UMNO supreme council member last month, which led to a tell-all media conference by the Pasir Salak MP.
During the media conference on June 27, Tajuddin had made various allegations against UMNO, including an alleged plot to push for Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s resignation as party president.
So, it remains to be seen if Tajuddin will still become an envoy with the PM’s backing. Perhaps, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has heard of the massive uproar by Malaysians at large who were aghast of his appointment. – July 12, 2022
